beyondbrics

Rapid urbanization – and booming infrastructure development projects that follow – has led to India becoming the second-biggest market for elevators globally, second only to China.

And India’s demand for elevators is only going to keep growing, according to Connecticut-based Otis Elevator Company. One of the world’s largest manufacturers expects the Indian market to grow to 70,000 units annually over the next three years from 50,000 now.

Reacting to criticism that several Indian real estate projects are not viable and to talk of a potential slow-down in construction, Didier Michaud-Daniel, global president of Otis told The Times of India in a recent interview:

“In India the rate of urbanization is quite low. We know that this rate is going to go up to probably 40 per cent. Today, if you take China, they are at 47 per cent. That was very low as well ten years ago. So clearly you will have more and more people coming to the various cities in India and trying to get a job and because of that, there will be more residential requirements which means more construction.”

At present the global market accounts for approximately 500,000 units annually, India’s neighbour China takes up most of that demand: 285,000 units.  at 50,000 India is well behind. But, for comparison, the North American market is just 15,000 units.

Matti Alahuhta, president and CEO of Kone, another leading global lift maker, told the Times of India in a separate interview: “So far as Asia-Pacific and, more specifically, India and China are concerned, we believe the market is going to escalate in the next 20 years. And the main reason is rapid urbanization and demographic change. In 2001, the urban population [in India] was 290 million. In 2010, it has touched 350 million and by 2030 it is expected to touch 590 million.”

On Monday Kone, the international lift and escalator manufacturer, told the FT it had won an order to supply 178 lifts and 226 escalators to 46 Chinese railway stations.

India’s demand for elevators is also steadily diversifying,  and Kone has said it plans to provide 6 units that will travel at speeds of up to 7 m/s, the fastest elevators in all of India.

Otis is all set to supply 63 elevators and escalators to Kohinoor Square, a state-of-the art office complex in Mumbai.  A symbol of India’s growing sophistication in construction projects, Kohinoor Square will include one of India’s tallest office buildings.

Carefully anticipating more elevators coming India’s way, Otis has its ammunition ready, expanding the size of its existing elevator factory in India threefold.

We have corrected this post to make clear that the quotes from Didier Michaud-Daniel are from an interview with the Times of India here. We apologise for our error and the fact that Matti Alahuta’s comments in a separate Times of India interview were wrongly attributed to Michaud-Daniel.

Related reading:
Is India growing faster than China?, beyondbrics
Chinese building boom lifts Kone, FT
India: Economic planners keep faith with Nehru dream, beyondbrics